FACE TO FACE — Gov. David Paterson speaks to PEF
Region 6 Coordinator Bob Varano, CSEA Capital Region President Kathy
Garrison and other union members in Johnstown about state budget cuts.
Story and photos by DEBORAH A. MILES
Gov. David Paterson held a series of “town hall” meetings in late January and
early February to hear what New Yorkers have to say about the state’s fiscal
crisis.
PEF members attended the January 30 meeting held in Johnstown at
Fulton-Montgomery Community College. More than 300 people came to question the
governor and listen to his responses.
About a dozen people were selected to ask the governor questions, and the focus
was on cutbacks in every area of state government, from programs for youths to
higher taxes, and the elimination of the state’s school-tax-rebate program.
The governor listened carefully, but his answer to almost all the questions was
the same.
“I think people really don’t understand how bad our economy is,” he said. “When
we cut programs, it’s because the circumstances are that dire. We are going to
have to recognize that everybody in the state is going to have to share in the
sacrifice.”
Before the meeting began, Paterson met briefly with PEF and Civil Service
Employees Association (CSEA) members outside.
PEF Region 6 Coordinator Bob Varano and a handful of members who work for the
state Office of Children and Family Services at the nearby Tryon Campus listened
as the governor said everyone has
to cut back. Paterson said he would meet with union leaders before adopting a
final budget.
“We don’t want PEF’s proposals to go by the wayside,” Varano said. “We want the
governor to support the union’s principles and to see us as a problem solver. We
don’t want to see layoffs. The governor should consider dropping consultant use
in the state and imposing a tax on the wealthiest New Yorkers, instead of the
middle class.”
Paterson did not commit to raising taxes on the wealthy. When asked at a press
conference after the meeting if he would seek layoffs in the state workforce,
Paterson said he would seek concessions from labor unions.
Paterson was well received at the event, despite his ongoing message the state
is in its worst fiscal shape since the Great Depression. He is the first
governor to visit Johnstown since Nelson Rockefeller, who left office in 1973.
PEF Division 218 member Bill Agresta, a vocational instructor at Tryon Boys
Campus, said his purpose for being there was twofold.
“I’m concerned about the closing of beds at OCFS facilities,” Agresta said.
“Everyone is concerned about the governor’s proposal to close the $15.4 billion
budget gap with more than 137 new taxes and fees that critics say would directly
hurt the middle class. It’s time to tax the rich.”
Paterson quoted a Chinese proverb during the discussion. “Within every crisis,
there is an opportunity.
